Antenna mount

ABSTRACT

A mount for an antenna includes: a plurality of horizontal members; and a plurality of vertical members interconnected with the horizontal members, the vertical members configured and arranged for mounting of at least one antenna. At least one of the horizontal members and/or the vertical members has a cross-section that reduces drag under wind load.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/592,421, filed Oct. 3, 2019, now U.S.Pat. No. 11,398,674, which claims priority from and the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/743,750, filed Oct. 10, 2018, thedisclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to mounts for antennas, and moreparticularly to mounts for antennas on an antenna tower or monopole.

BACKGROUND

With increased demand for more wireless communication, the number ofradio and antenna units that a tower traditionally supports hasincreased and is expected to continue to increase. New towers will needto be designed to support greater numbers of antenna and radio units,while existing towers are retrofitted to support more units, and effortis made to fully utilize space available on the towers.

In addition, antennas are becoming larger in order to handle morewireless traffic. One parameter that influences antenna design isEffective Projected Area (EPA), which is determined by calculationsdefined by TIA/ANSI-222-G. EPA is intended to predict the effect of windloading on an antenna structure to enable designers to create a safedesign. The configuration of the antenna mount can impact thecalculations. As such, minimizing an antenna mount's contribution to EPAcan be desirable.

One approach that addresses EPA, weight, strength and assemblyrequirements of antenna mounts is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,812,762to Skrepcinski et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference. The mount includes two generally C-shaped anus,each with upper and lower free ends; equipment face mounting bracketsmounted on the arms; and lower and upper plates mounted to a post. Theupper free ends of the arms are pivotally mounted to the upper plate,and the lower free ends of the arms are pivotally mounted to the lowerplate, such that the arms are movable between retracted and extendedpositions. The arms are fixed in the extended position relative to theupper plate via, fasteners inserted through holes in the upper free endsof the arms and in the upper plate, and the arms are fixed in theextended position relative to the lower plate via fasteners insertedthrough holes in the lower free ends of the arms and in the lower plate.The pivotal mounts and the holes defining, a desired angle between thefirst and second arms in the extended position.

It may be desirable to provide additional mounts that address EPA,weight and strength requirements.

SUMMARY

As a first aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a mountfor an antenna comprising: a plurality of horizontal members; and aplurality of vertical members interconnected with the horizontalmembers, the vertical members configured and arranged for mounting of atleast one antenna. At least one of the horizontal members and/or thevertical members has a cross-section that reduces drag under wind load.

As a second aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a mountfor an antenna comprising: a plurality of horizontal members; and aplurality of vertical members interconnected with the horizontalmembers, the vertical members configured and arranged for mounting of atleast one antenna. At least one of the horizontal members is configuredto provide lift under wind load.

As a third aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a mountfor an antenna comprising: a plurality of horizontal members; and a ofvertical members interconnected with the horizontal members, thevertical members configured and arranged for mounting of at least oneantenna. At least one of the horizontal members is movable relative tothe vertical members, such movement varying drag and/or life due to windload.

As a fourth aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to anassembly comprising an antenna and an antenna mount. The antenna mountcomprises: a plurality of horizontal members; and a plurality ofvertical members interconnected with the horizontal members, the antennamounted on the vertical members. A cable connected to the antenna isrouted inside at least one of the horizontal members and/or at least oneof the vertical members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an antenna mount and antenna accordingto embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the antenna mount of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the antenna mount of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of a horizontalmember of the frame of the antenna mount of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5A depicts cross-sections of exemplary airfoil shapes that may beemployed in horizontal or vertical members of the frame of the antennamount of the present invention.

FIG. 5B depicts a cross-section of an exemplary fusiform shape that maybe employed in horizontal or vertical members of the frame of theantenna mount of the present invention.

FIG. 5C depicts a cross-section of an exemplary convex shape that may beemployed in horizontal or vertical members of the frame of the antennamount of the present invention.

FIG. 5D depicts a cross-section of an exemplary bi-convex shape that maybe employed in horizontal or vertical members of the frame of theantenna mount of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-section of a horizontal member of the antenna mount ofFIG. 1 showing how wind can create lift.

FIG. 7 is a cross-section of a horizontal member of the antenna mount ofFIG. 1 with an aileron attached to create lift according to alternativeembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a horizontal member of the antenna mountof FIG. 1 with a cable routed within, according to alternativeembodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention now is described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of theinvention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. In the figures, thethickness of certain lines, layers, components, elements or features maybe exaggerated for clarity. Broken lines illustrate optional features oroperations unless specified otherwise.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the specification andrelevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overlyformal sense unless expressly so defined herein. Well-known functions orconstructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.

As used herein, the singular forms “a.”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items. As used herein, phrases such as “between X and Y” and“between about X and Y” should be interpreted to include X and Y. Asused herein, phrases such as “between about X and Y” mean “between aboutX and about Y.” As used herein, phrases such as “from about X to Y” mean“from about X to about Y.”

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on”,“attached” to, “connected” to, “coupled” with, “contacting”, etc.,another element, it can be directly on, attached to, connected to,coupled with or contacting the other element or intervening elements mayalso be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being,for example, “directly on”, “directly attached” to, “directly connected”to, “directly coupled” with or “directly contacting” another element,there are no intervening elements present. It will also be appreciatedby those of skill in the art that references to a structure or featurethat is disposed “adjacent” another feature may have portions thatoverlap or underlie the adjacent feature.

Spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”,“upper”, “lateral”, “left”, “right” and the like, may be used herein forease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship toanother element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It willbe understood that the spatially relative terms are intended toencompass different orientations of the device in use or operation inaddition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if thedevice in the figures is inverted, elements described as “under” or“beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “over” theother elements or features. The device may be otherwise oriented(rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the descriptors ofrelative spatial relationships used herein interpreted accordingly.

Referring now to the drawings, an antenna mount, designated broadly at10, is illustrated in FIGS. 1-4. Generally, the mount 10 includes twopipe clamps 12 that are configured to attached to a leg of an antennatower (not shown), side panels 20 that are attached to the pipe clamps12 and to U-bolt brackets 22, a vertical post 24 attached to the U-boltbrackets 22, upper and lower azimuth adjustment plates 26, 28 that aremounted on the post 24, and two generally C-shaped arms 30 that arepivotally attached to the upper and lower azimuth adjustment plates 26,28. Diagonal braces 32 may also provide stability. Details regarding thestructure, function and deployment of these components are provided inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/139,057, supra, and need not bedescribed in detail herein.

A frame 100 for antenna and/or radio mounting is shown mounted to thearms 30. The frame 100 includes two horizontal members 102 that aremounted to the arms 30 via U-bolts or other fasteners. Notably, thehorizontal members 102 are positioned at essentially the same elevationas horizontal runs 52 of the arms 30, which can reduce EPA. Verticalmembers 106 (in the illustrated embodiment four vertical members 106 arepresent) are mounted to the horizontal members 102 via U-bolts or thelike. The vertical members 106 provide mounting locations for an antenna(one of which is shown schematically at 110 in FIG. 3).

As can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the horizontal members 102 are notround in cross-section as is the case with the mount shown in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/139,057, supra, but instead have anairfoil, fusiform, convex, biconvex or similar cross-section with theintent of reducing drag and/or creating lift. As used herein, an“airfoil” shape has with a rounded leading edge, followed by a sharptrailing edge, often with a symmetric curvature of upper and lowersurfaces. A “fusiform” shape (which is common to many aquatic animals)is characterized by being tapered at both the head and the tail. A“convex” shape protrudes in at least one direction normal to itslongitudinal axis, and a “bi-convex” shape protrudes in both directionsnormal to its longitudinal axis. Cross-sections of exemplary airfoil,fusiform, convex and bi-convex designs are shown in FIGS. 5A-5D,respectively.

As discussed above, antenna mounts are rated based on their calculatedEPA as set forth in ANSI/TIA-222-G Structural Standard for AntennaSupporting Structures and Antennas, Table 2-8. Force Coefficients (Ca)For-Appurtenances and Table C1: Wind Force Coefficients for TypicalMicrowave Antenna without Radome. An airfoil, fusiform, convex orbiconvex shape on the horizontal members 102 can reduce the drag createdby wind that reaches the frame 100. As such, the load on the towercreated by wind can be reduced.

Although not illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, it can be understood that thevertical members 106 may also be formed with an airfoil, fusiform,convex, hi-convex or other drag-reducing cross-section. Vertical members106 that are so configured can also reduce calculated. EPA and, as such,the load experienced by the tower under wind loading.

Reducing the wind load experienced by the tower due to the mount 10 andaccompanying antenna(s) can improve performance in multiple ways. First,a reduced wind load may reduce the chance structural failure of thetower, mount or antenna, particularly at the joints. Second, a lowerwind load caused by the shape of a mount may enable more material to beused in the mount, thereby making it stronger. Third, a reduced windload may cause less sway of the tower, mount and antenna, which canimprove performance of the antenna. Those of skill in this art willappreciate that here may be other performance aspects that can improvewith reduced wind load.

It should also be understood that horizontal members 102 having anairfoil shape may also create lift under wind loading. This can beunderstood by comparison of an airfoil-Shaped horizontal member 102 toan airplane wing. As an airplane wing is conveyed through the air, itsshape and/or orientation can create lift (which, of course, maintainsthe airplane in flight). Similarly, a horizontal member 102 having, anairfoil-shaped cross-section can experience lift under wind loading,which in turn can decrease the load created by the mount 100 andattached antenna under wind (see FIG. 6).

In some embodiments, the frame 100 may include mechanisms to enable oneor more horizontal members 102 to rotate about their longitudinal axes(i.e., to rotate about a horizontal axis that is parallel with thehorizontal members 102—shown at A in FIG. 3). Such rotation can vary theorientation (or pitch) of the horizontal members 102 relative to theground (and, in turn, relative to the wind direction). By rotating thepitch of the horizontal members 102, the magnitude of lift due to thewind can be advantageously varied to decrease the load on the tower.Such mechanisms may be configured so that the vertical members 106 towhich the antenna is mounted do not substantially move, in order tomaintain the elevation, tilt and azimuth settings of the antenna.

In other embodiments, the horizontal members 102 may include elevators,ailerons or other movable members that can affect the magnitude of windloading. Elevators and ailerons (an aileron is shown at 160 in FIG. 7)may extend for a portion or for the full length of the horizontalmembers 102, and in some embodiments a single horizontal member 102 mayhave multiple ailerons/elevators (for example, a horizontal member 102may have an ailerons/elevator between each intersection with a verticalmember 106). The elevators/ailerons may be deployed to modify the windload experienced by the frame 100.

In instances in which either the horizontal members 102 can vary inpitch or in which elevators and ailerons are included on the horizontalmembers 102, movement of these components may be activated and monitoredby a controller 150 (FIG. 1) The controller 150 may be configured toaccept manual input regarding the orientation of the horizontal members102 and any ailerons/elevators, or may be configured to receiveenvironmental data (e.g., data on wind speed and/or direction) andsignal the components to move in response to such data. The inclusion ofa controller (and in particular a “smart” controller that basesmovements of the components on environmental data) can reduce the windload on the tower by moving the horizontal members 102 and/orailerons/elevators to advantageous positions.

It will be understood by those of skill in this art that a typicalantenna arrangement will have multiple “sectors” (often with threeantennas) arranged around the antenna tower. Thus, different antennamounts around the antenna tower will experience different wind loadsbecause they are oriented in different directions. The controller 150may be configured to control the movements of the horizontal members 102and/or ailerons/elevators of more than one antenna mount 10, and toconsider the effects of such movements on all of the mounts 10 as awhole in order to coordinate the movements to reduce or minimize theoverall loading of the tower.

In addition, the controller 150 may consider the condition of otherantennas mounted to other towers in adjusting the mount 10. Techniquesfor adjusting the movement of a mount (particularly the downtilt) arediscussed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0131703 to Meyer et al.,the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an enlarged portion of a horizontal member 102is shown therein. It can be seen that, in some embodiments, one or moresurfaces of the horizontal member 102 may be textured or contoured in amanner that provides lift. As an example, the upper and lower surfacesof the horizontal member 102 may be dimpled, stippled, roughened, or thelike. In this sense the surface of the horizontal member 102 may becompared to a golf ball, which typically has dimples in a predeterminedpattern. The dimples create an advantageous air flow pattern (due to thecreation of a thin turbulent boundary layer) that creates lift for theball. The inclusion of texture or contour in one or more surfaces of thehorizontal member 102 may increase lift, Which in turn can reduce loadon the antenna tower due to wind. For example, a horizontal member 102may have dimpled lower and front surfaces to create lift.

It is also notable that the horizontal members 102 and/or the verticalmembers 106 may be at least partially hollow, which can enable therouting of cables therein (see FIG. 8, wherein cable 170 is positionedwithin the horizontal member 102). Locating cables within one of thesecomponents can reduce the impact that loose cables may have on windloading. In addition, locating the cables within the horizontal and/orvertical members 102, 106 can improve network performance, particularlypassive intermodulation (PLM) performance, as connections can bestabilized (for example, connectors may be mounted directly within ahorizontal member 102, which can lead to more consistent connections)and can be protected from the environment. Pal may also be reduced viawelded connections between components.

The mount 10 may be formed of any material that is sufficiently strongand rigid to support antennas. Steel or another metallic material may beemployed. Alternatively, mounts can be made of fiber-reinforcedelastomer carbon fiber, fiberglass and polymeric materials (filled orunfilled). Any convex cross section, i.e. round, elliptical, round andsquare members can be made by filament winding, pultrusion orcompression molding. Pultrusion shapes can also include interlockingfeatures for the tower-mounted devices which can be used an attachmentfeature. Polymeric materials tend to be lighter than metals, therebyreducing the overall weight of the mount, and are typically dielectricmaterials that do not significantly impact network performance.

The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to beconstrued as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of thisinvention have been described, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplaryembodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings andadvantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined inthe claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, withequivalents of the claims to be included therein.

That which is claimed is:
 1. An antenna mount, comprising: a pluralityof horizontal members; and a plurality of vertical membersinterconnected with the horizontal members to define a generally planarframe, the vertical members configured and arranged to support at leastone antenna; wherein at least one of the horizontal members has asurface that is textured to provide lift under wind load.
 2. The mountdefined in claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of horizontalmembers has a cross-section that reduces drag under wind load.
 3. Themount defined in claim 2, therein the at least one horizontal member hasan airfoil or a fusiform cross-section.
 4. The mount defined in claim 1,wherein the textured surface of the at least one horizontal membercomprises dimples.
 5. The mount defined in claim 1, wherein the texturedsurface of the at least one horizontal member is an upper surface of thehorizontal member.
 6. The mount defined in claim 1, in combination withan antenna mounted on one of the vertical members.
 7. An antenna mount,comprising: a plurality of horizontal members; and a plurality ofvertical members interconnected with the horizontal members to define agenerally planar frame, the vertical members configured and arranged tosupport at least one antenna; and at least one cable configured toprovide signals and/or power to the antenna, the at least one cablebeing routed through at least one of the plurality of horizontal membersand at least one of the plurality of vertical members.
 8. The antennamount defined in claim 7, wherein the at least one cable is routedthrough one of the horizontal members and one of the vertical members.9. The antenna mount defined in claim 7, in combination with an antennamounted on a first one of the plurality of vertical members.
 10. Thecombination defined in claim 9, wherein the at least one cable is routedthrough the first vertical member and to the antenna.
 11. Thecombination defined in claim 10, wherein the at least one cable is alsorouted through a first horizontal member that is attached to the firstvertical member.